


Whiskers

by Happy_Ocelot



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Genin Era, Missing Moments, Post-Naruto Time Skip | Naruto Shippuden, The Last: Naruto the Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29777016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Ocelot/pseuds/Happy_Ocelot
Summary: Hinata's always been fascinated by Naruto's whiskers. Inspired by the cut scene from the storyboard of The Last.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	Whiskers

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently, in the storyboards of The Last movie, there was a scene of Hinata poking at Naruto's whiskers, but it was cut from the movie (thank you badluckbrebis for sharing it. I would thank you on tumblr, but I don't have one). That makes me so sad, even though I know it was most likely due to time constraints, or because it didn't fit, or whatever. But it would have been cute if it made it to the movie, ya know? Cue this story (which feels way too similar to my other story about Naruto smiling...sorry, I'll vary a bit more in the future).
> 
> Reviews would be love. :)

They made him look like a fox sometimes.

That was what the villagers used to say, back when Hinata was a kid. Some unsightly blemishes on his face, ones which forever marked his association with...something. Hinata knew that this something was bad, but whenever she asked any of the adults why, they would all become very, very quiet, and shoo her away, telling her to focus on her training, because wasn't she quite sloppy indeed, Hinata-sama?

She soon learned to stop asking. Instead, she would simply observe.

They were a thin black, three on each side of his face. She wondered if someone had carved them onto his cheeks, or if he was simply born with them. Maybe he painted them onto his face, rather like Kiba and his red face paint? She soon learned the answer to that question on a day in the rainy season. He was late to class again, the torrential downpour outside matting his blonde hair onto his forehead – didn't he have an umbrella?

Iruka-sensei asked the same thing, for once, not with a scolding expression, but with a concerned, fussing one. He produced a towel out of nowhere like a magician, and began busily drying his problem student's hair off, before finally sending him off with a "Don't be late again!" warning.

Of course, Naruto decided to sit at the same table as _hers_. Hinata tried not to scream – whether in happiness that he'd decided to sit next to her, or nervousness that _he'd decided to sit next to her_ , she didn't know.

He blinked at her curiously. "Whatcha looking at, Hinata?" he asked.

She turned pale. Surely, she wasn't _that_ obviously staring at him. She usually made it a point to avoid eye contact with him at all costs.

"Usually you don't look at me, but today you're _staring_ , ya know."

Oh. She _was_ that obvious.

She squeaked in horror.

"C'mon, you can tell me!" Naruto insisted.

"It's...nothing," she mumbled, shrinking in on herself. "I...um, I'm very sorry for bothering you."

He smiled. "You aren't bothering me. Tell me what it is."

She wouldn't. She _couldn't_. Asking him about his whisker marks was a no-go. It would probably make him uncomfortable. It always made _her_ uncomfortable when people asked her why her eyes were white.

"It's nothing," she mumbled again.

"That's enough chit-chat over there!" Iruka-sensei yelled. " _P_ _ay attention_. You're already late!"

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief at Iruka-sensei's timely interruption (although she was sorry that Naruto had borne the brunt of the yelling).

He grumbled, but turned his eyes to the chalkboard, all thoughts of interrogating Hinata forgotten immediately.

She continued to watch him discreetly out of the corner of her eye. The water dripped in rivulets down his face, criss-crossing across those fine black lines as he scrunched up his face in concentration, before pooling down his chin and onto the wooden desk. It was a mesmerizing sight.

She'd learned something new today.

The whiskers on his face were all-natural, no paint added.

* * *

Hinata's heart felt like lead as she stared at the Chuunin Exam proctor, Morino Ibiki. From the way he told things, the tenth question was all-or-nothing. And if she didn't get it right, she would doom not just herself to failure, but her teammates as well. Forever. She knew that they probably wouldn't scold her openly for it, but the thought of disappointment radiating in waves from Shino, the tired shake of Kiba's head, or Kurenai-sensei's solemn gaze, fixed on her with a look that said _"I knew she wasn't cut out for this,"_ it was...

Unbearable.

Should she...raise her hand?

She had no idea what she might have done next if not for the person who was seated next to her. Even years later, the answer to that question evaded her.

But he was there, and that changed everything.

As Naruto launched off into his capslock speech – "Never underestimate me! I won't run! I'll accept your stupid question! Even if I stay a genin forever, I'll still be Hokage at all costs, even with just my stubborness! I'm not afraid of you!" – his face looked...different.

The whisker markings on his face didn't look finely thin anymore. They looked darker, as though they had been painted on his cheeks as large brushstrokes. His face was set in determination.

He kind of... _did_ look like a fox – a fierce warrior fox.

That was strange.

She continued to watch him from the corner of her eye.

* * *

It was true, as the villagers said, that his whiskers sometimes made him look like a fox. But not today. Today, they made him look like a cat. She tried in vain to suppress a smile as he rolled over, stretching and yawning.

He looked like a cat.

Especially since he had a small blade of grass stuck to his cheek and was totally oblivious to the fact.

Naruto had grown a lot since his training trip with Jiraiya-sama. His blonde hair had become shaggier and spikier and would have hung in his eyes, were it not for his hitai-ate. His jawline was a bit more accentuated. This produced a lot of unforeseen effects – such as making those fine black lines stand out even more than usual.

Hinata had learned a lot about those whisker marks over the years.

That the villagers thought he looked like a fox because of the fox inside his belly. That they were all-natural, no paint added. That he was born with them, most likely (she'd have to do her own research to figure that one out for sure). That they made him look like a cat sometimes. That when his face was set in determination, they became a bit less thin and a bit more wild, like they were created by large brushstrokes. When that happened, he looked amazing, at least to her. Like a fierce warrior fox, when he started shouting about his ninja way to Morino Ibiki, or when he fought against Neji nii-san, or cheered her on when _she_ fought against Neji nii-san, back during the Chuunin Exams.

But there was just one thing she didn't know about them, just one thing she really wanted to find out.

"Whatcha looking at, Hinata?" he asked cheerfully.

She was staring obviously _again_ , wasn't she? But thankfully, she had an answer ready this time, unlike the last time.

"Um...it's just that you have a bit of grass on your..." She reached out, her heartbeat speeding up in anticipation, ready to touch his cheek and _finally_ find the answer to her question.

"Awww, really?" Naruto carelessly wiped the blade of grass off his face. "Thanks, Hinata! You're really nice, ya know!" He smiled at her, the fine black lines making him look like a very cute kitten.

Hinata deflated, though she tried not to show it.

_She was so close._

* * *

She knew that this was totally inappropriate. They were scouting together, on a mission. An extremely important, life-or-death mission. They needed to save her sister. They needed to stop the moon from crashing into the earth. Now was _not_ the time to...

Her hand moved on its own.

...Poke Naruto's whiskers.

Too late.

"Hinata?" he asked, staring at her wide-eyed, looking just a little surprised, and perhaps it was only her imagination, but just a little embarrassed?

Oh well. She might as well find out the answer to her question. Her thumb idly ran up and down the whiskers on the right side of Naruto's face. Said face turned a brilliant shade of watermelon red. It wasn't her imagination then.

His whiskers were slightly rough at the edges, but smooth in the middle. A strange sense of calm washed over her. _Finally. Mission accomplished._

"Uh...Hinata? What are you doing?" Despite his blushing face, he made no attempt to push her hand away.

"Oh...it's...just..." She smiled a tad mischievously. "You had some grass on your cheek, Naruto-kun."

He squinted at her suspiciously. "C'mon, you can tell me the real reason, ya know." The red had barely started to flee his cheeks, only to come running back when she still didn't remove her hand.

"That _is_ the real reason."

He pouted at her when she finally let her hand drop.

"Hinata," he complained. "I don't believe you. You're so mean, making fun of me like that."

"No, I wasn't," she protested. "You had some grass on your cheek."

Then suddenly, she felt _his_ fingers poking at her cheeks, his big, smooth hands gently settling on the sides of her face. She squeaked in surprise.

"You have some grass on your cheeks, Hinata," he said very seriously. She might have believed him, were his lips not twitching at her reaction.

She scowled at him, and he finally let go (her mind whined in disappointment – she firmly ignored it), but not before shooting her a big smile and backing away from her real fast. She blinked in surprise at his abrupt movement.

Naruto scratched his head, his face now only the faintest of red.

"Ahaha. Anyway, um...are you thirsty? There's a spring there! Let's get some water!" he said in a rapid-fire voice, running up the stone steps of the ruins.

Hinata watched him out of the corner of her eye.

She learned something new today.

He liked it when she poked his whiskers.

He really _was_ like a very cute kitten.


End file.
